Jim Suttie: Knowing the speed limit is key

NAPLES - Most golfers come to me wanting more distance. It is a fact of life.

The game is a power game now. New high-tech drivers and longer courses are the norm rather than the exception.

Everybody wants to hit it farther. Unfortunately, with this new "power swing" that everyone is developing, the shot-making part of the game has been de-emphasized, at best.

So, what are the qualities of more distance? And, how much is your body and your swing going to let you reach that desired distance?

I believe we can all improve our distance 10 to 15 yards if we work on the right fundamentals. Mass-times-velocity squared equals distance. This means the velocity of the club is twice as important as its mass. That is why manufacturers are lightening the club as much as possible, so it can be swung faster.

But, there are other factors that go into becoming a long driver. Some of these are:

* How strong are you? This is especially true in the hands and arms.

* How flexible are you? This helps you achieve the full range of motion of your joint function.

* What do your levers look like? By this I mean, how long are your arms and legs and how tall are you? Longer levers give you the mechanical advantage to create a longer swing arc. Unfortunately, we don't have a choice in some of these physical matters, as we are not allowed to pick our parents.

So, that said, we have only one other way to improve our distance, and that is to improve our technique.

If you improve your technique, you can and will improve your distance.

Distance is generally a result of the following impact factors:

* Clubhead speed

* Centerface impact

* A shallow. ascending angle of approach

* A slightly inside-outside path through impact

All the research on increased clubhead speed indicates that the correct sequential movement and weight transfer are the two main things that influence distance.

Unfortunately, most amateurs only use their hands and arms to hit the ball, leaving their body rotation and weight transfer out of the equation.

Here are some of my tips for increased distance by improving your technique:

* Close up your stance at address. This will allow you to get a full turn with your driver.

* Set up with your weight 60 percent right and 40 percent left with your spine and head three inches behind the ball. This will allow you to hit up on the ball through impact.

* Play the ball more forward, off your left toe, with your driver.

* Tee the ball higher than you normally do and don't ground your club behind the ball at address. These little changes will allow you to hit up on the ball with an ascending blow and not a descending blow.

Some "in swing" tips that would help are:

* Take the club back slow and low with a wide extension. Never rush your backswing when going for a long one. This creates a bigger swing arc which translates into more distance.

* Turn your shoulders a full 90 to 110 degrees on the backswing. While you are doing this, try to keep your lower body quiet by turning it only 40 degrees. This will give you the best coil to create the required distance. Coiling your upper body against the lower half is half the battle to getting more distance.

* Lighten up your grip pressure when getting ready to hit a long one. Your hands and arms must be loose or no speed will be generated.

* Periodically check your back leg at the top of your swing. You must have the weight solidly on the inside of the right heel at the top if you are to make a good weight transfer to the left on the downswing.

* Now, here comes the hard part for most amateurs: Maintain that coiled tension in the upper body as your lower body shifts forward towards the target on the downswing. Yes, I said lower body shifts forward. This is the secret of long driving (shifting the hips forward while maintaining the upper body coil). And, don't tell me you can't do this because you can.

* Once the weight is into the left leg on the downswing, just rotate your body to the left as fast as you can and this will create more clubhead speed than you have ever experienced. When I go to the long driving championships every October, I see all of the real long drivers completely up on their toes at impact with a very straight left leg. This would indicate that they are pushing up on the ground with their feet and creating a very fast rotation with their hips thru impact.

The bottom line is that all long drivers create their speed by using their body and not just their hands and arms. They have great weight transfer mechanics. Timing is often called sequential motion. Sequential motion is a linkage type of thing where every link in the chain of the golf swing must move in the right order.

To simplify things, the order of movement on the backswing is: clubhead, hands, arms, shoulders and torso, hips, knees, and finally, feet. The order is just reversed on the downswing: feet first, then knees, then hips, then torso, then arms, then wrists and hands and finally clubhead. This is sequential motion and is the main creator of distance.

When doing all of this in the two-second time limit that it takes to swing a golf club, make sure you close your eyes in case you hit it (just kidding). Please have fun as you try to improve.

To test weight transfer I have a force platform (weight shift transfer machine that will show how a student is transferring his/her body weight. A video or pictures will be on my Web site by Friday demonstrating the text and giving drills — www.jimsuttie.com.

Dr. Jim Suttie, the 2000 PGA Teacher of the Year, is director of instruction at The Club at TwinEagles in North Naples and at Cog Hill Golf Club in Lemont, Ill. He also is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and rated No. 15 by Golf Digest. Suttie coaches the FGCU men's golf team. E-mail him at jmsuttie@aol.com.